


Remember Lying in the Summer Sun

by kaleidomusings



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Regency, Alternate Universe - Space, M/M, Pining, Slow Burn, Space Opera, Space Pirates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-28
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-09-27 13:58:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10023806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaleidomusings/pseuds/kaleidomusings
Summary: “Keith.” The touch on his shoulder is so gentle Keith lets himself be turned, facing Takashi's kind gaze and it makes something in his chest ache. “Everyonedeserves a friend.”His mouth twists, more grimace than a smile. “Even me?”“Especially you,” Takashi says and pulls him close, wrapping his arms around Keith’s shoulders.--Or this is a story of how Keith falls in love with Shiro, loses him, and falls in love with him all over again.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Shiro Day, everybody!

Keith tugs at the collar of his fancy dress shirt, annoyed with the scratchy material, when Allura reaches over and smacks his hand away. 

“Stop that,” she hisses at him. She’s only a few years older than he is, but still treats him like a child. Even though he’s already fourteen.

Keith is tempted to stick his tongue out at her and nearly does it, but Coran clears his throat, giving them both a pointed look. They turn away from each other and Keith glances up at Alfor, checking to see if he’s angry or not. But the lord of Altea simply smiles as Coran announces the names of the visiting rulers of Earth. 

“May I present Lord Shirogane Toshiyuki, Lady Shirogane Erica, and Lord Shirogane Takashi.”

This is the first time Keith has met anyone from Earth, but it’s a little unfair how tall and beautiful they are. Alfor and Allura are bad enough, being Altean royalty and prime examples of the planet’s population, but the Shirogane family are unlike anyone he’s ever seen before. 

Lord Shirogane is broad-shouldered, with a strong jaw and thick wavy black hair. His eyes are dark brown and there’s a mischievous tilt to his smile, like he knows a secret he’s not willing to share with anyone else. Lady Shirogane has a pretty face with a surprisingly stubborn chin, long auburn hair, and lovely grey eyes, which matches the shiny silver dress she’s wearing. 

The boy -Takashi- looks close to Allura’s age and is at least a head taller than Keith already, but will no doubt be as tall as his parents when he grows older. He has Lord Shirogane’s strong jaw and wavy dark hair, but his eyes are grey like Lady Shirogane’s and the way he carries himself in his dark blue suit also takes after her. Takashi smiles at Keith when he notices him staring and he looks away, suddenly embarrassed by his own scrawny body and itchy clothes. 

“Welcome to Altea, Toshiyuki,” Alfor says kindly to Lord Shirogane as they shake hands. He bows to Lady Shirogane, taking the hand she extends and kissing her gloved fingertips. “And dear Erica, as lovely as ever.”

Lady Shirogane smiles with amusement. “No need to flatter me, Alfor.” She gently touches Takashi’s shoulder and he steps forward with a bow. “Allow me to introduce our son, Takashi.”

“It’s an honor, Lord Alfor,” Takashi says. 

Alfor smiles and nods. “And this is my daughter, Lady Allura, and my nephew, Lord Keith.”

Allura curtsies like the princess she is, while Keith stiffly bows and feels awkward doing it. He startles when Lady Shirogane steps forward and kneels in front of him, taking his hands in hers. 

“You bear a strong resemblance to your mother,” she says, her voice soft and sad. 

Keith bites his lip, a habit Coran constantly tells him is unseemly but one Keith doesn’t know how to stop. He doesn’t know how to respond to Lady Shirogane either, because the war against Zarkon started when Keith was still very small. There isn’t much he remembers of his mother before she left for war except faint memories, like the sound of her voice or the warmth of her embrace. But she was gone for such a long time and when news of her death came -just weeks before Zarkon’s defeat- he didn’t know what to feel. He still doesn’t. 

How can he miss someone he never really knew?

“Saturna was a brave warrior and a dear friend,” Lady Shirogane continues, even though Keith doesn’t want to hear any of it. “She sacrificed her life to save mine, and while I know I can never replace what you lost, I hope that—“

Keith can’t stand hearing anymore. He yanks his hands from her and backs away, the surprise on everyone’s faces filling him with shame. But he can’t seem to stop himself, because he turns and runs out of the room instead of staying to apologize. The servants shout in alarm and leap out of Keith’s way as he barrels past, but he doesn’t stop to acknowledge any of them. Let them complain about him all they like. It’s no different than what they usually say about him when they think he’s not listening. 

As soon as he reaches the gardens, Keith tears off his boots and shrugs off his coat, racing across the grass with his bare feet until he reaches the tree. His mother’s tree. He swings himself up onto the lowest branch and starts to climb, knowing exactly where to place his feet and grab hold from years of practice. It’s the only place on the grounds where he can go that makes him feel at ease, instead of an interloper he knows the rest of the household (except maybe for Alfor and Allura) considers him to be. Keith settles on the highest branch and looks out over the garden walls, where he can see the peaks of the space harbor spiraling upward into the sky. He looks at them, imagining what it would be like to travel to some far off distant planet where no one judges him for what or who his parents are, but accepts him as he is. 

“Keith!”

He startles and glances down, blinking in surprise when it’s not Allura or Coran he finds standing beneath his tree, but Takashi. “What do you want?” he asks harsher than he means to, then winces at the scolding Coran is sure to give him for being rude to a guest. Again. 

Thankfully, Takashi doesn’t seem to take offense. He just looks at Keith with worry and concern, like he actually cares about him despite them being complete strangers. “If my mother offended you,” Takashi says and his grey eyes are so earnest that Keith has to look away. “Let me apologize on her behalf.”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Keith snaps, because there’s nothing Takashi or Lady Shirogane need to apologize for. It’s him. It’s always him. He’s the one who is different, who can never act the way he’s supposed to no matter how hard he tries. He’s the one who can’t fit in.

“May I come up?” Takashi asks and his polite tone makes Keith laugh bitterly. 

Why does he bother being so nice to him? “Sure. If you can.”

What Keith doesn’t expect is for Takashi to nod and climb up with ease, not seeming to care if he tears his dark blue coat or scuffs his polished boots. He just settles down on the branch next to him, making a soft awed sound as he sees the view from this high up. 

“I think I see our ship from here,” Takashi says, squinting a bit and pointing. 

Keith says nothing, but he glances in the same direction. He’s sure that he can make out a ship with the Shirogane crest and painted the same color as Takashi’s coat, but he doesn’t mention it. He just looks back and watches this strange Earth boy who followed Keith outside when he could be enjoying Alfor and Allura’s company instead. It just doesn’t make sense. 

Takashi notices him staring and smiles at him. “Hm? What is it?”

He doesn’t mean to say it, but the words seem to blurt out on their own. “I’m part Galra, you know.”

Takashi stops to consider this for a moment before asking, “Does that matter?” Keith might have taken offense if it was anyone else asked such a question, but he sounds honestly curious. “You don’t really look Galra anyway. Except for your eyes.”

Keith raises his hand toward his face, either to cover his violet eyes or shield them from Takashi’s view, but lets it drop. “It’s because my father was from Earth.”

“Really?” Takashi leans close, grinning with excitement. “Was he a soldier?”

Keith shakes his head. “No. An explorer.” His father never wanted to get involved in the fighting, or so he said. He left when Keith was really young, but his father would still send transmissions and gifts from all his travels up, until the day Keith’s mother died. After that Keith hasn’t heard a word from him. He’s not even sure if he’s still alive.

Takashi must be able to tell it’s a sore subject from Keith’s silence, because his voice is soft and gentle. “Did you lose him?”

Keith nods, because that seems kinder than saying that his father -wherever he is or whatever he’s doing now- died the same day his mother did. 

It takes him by surprise when a hand places itself over his, but Takashi gazes at him with his kind eyes and Keith slowly feels himself relax. He lets Takashi twine their fingers together and holds on tight. 

“Is this okay?” Takashi asks and Keith shrugs, his heart beating fast for no particular reason.

He can’t remember the last time anyone has ever held his hand or if anyone has ever tried before. But Takashi’s hand is very warm in his and -even though it is kind of a strange feeling- he doesn’t dislike it. “Yeah.” 

Takashi’s eyes crinkle as he smiles and they sit together for some time without speaking, simply enjoying each other’s presence. Eventually Keith hears Coran calling for them and reluctantly pulls away. 

“We should go,” he says quietly, as if speaking any louder might ruin whatever understanding passed between them. 

Takashi looks at him for a long moment, before nodding and climbing down after him. 

Just like he knew he would, Coran does take Keith aside to scold him for running out on Lady Shirogane and “acting like a hooligan”. But Takashi sits down next to him at dinner and grins when Keith asks him about space travel, which makes it all totally worth it. 

—

Keith hates parties. They’re stuffy and boring and Coran makes him wear the most uncomfortable clothes. He hates the people and the way they think they’re better than him, their disdain clear as day on their faces. It’s enough to drive him crazy. 

“You look nice, Keith.”

Keith turns to glare at Takashi, even as he accepts the glass of punch he holds out to him. “Are you making fun of me?”

“Of course not,” Takashi says, although he’s still smiling so Keith doesn’t believe him. “You look very handsome.”

He glances down at his red suit and gives Takashi a strange look. “If you say so.”

Just as Keith takes a sip of his punch, he also spits it back out when Takashi suddenly holds out his hand and asks, “Will you dance with me?”

“Are you crazy?” he demands, because who in their right mind would want to dance with him when Allura is right there, looking pretty in a light blue dress as she converses with Lady Shirogane. 

Takashi frowns in confusion, like _Keith_ is being the weird one. “No. I want to dance with you.”

Keith isn’t sure if he can believe that, not when he sees how the young lords and ladies are all looking at Takashi with their hopeful gazes while he’s wasting his time with Keith. “There’s so many other people you could dance with,” he says slowly. “Why don’t you ask them?”

Takashi nods and looks resigned about it, like dancing with anyone but Keith is a chore he’s dreading. “Yeah, but I want my first to be with you.”

“I—“ Keith stares down at his boots as his cheeks flush with heat. If he’s being honest with himself, he does want to dance with Takashi, but he’s never actually danced before. Sure, he had to put up with the lessons Coran grilled into him, but since no one ever paid him any attention at dances he’s never been able to use anything he learned. More often than not, he would hide away in some corner until Allura came to fetch him so they could go to bed. He’s never had anyone actively seek him out for a dance, must less a first one. And now that he’s faced with the reality of it, he’s not sure what to say. 

“Do you not want to?” Takashi asks, looking crestfallen but trying his best to hide it. It takes Keith a moment to understand until he realizes that he’s been silent for too long, staring dumbly at Takashi instead of answering properly. 

“I do!” he says louder than he means to and the people around them start to stare. “I mean. Yes. Sure.”

The answering smile Takashi gives him is so radiant and happy that Keith forgets himself. He forgets everything -where he is and what he’s doing- that he can't help smiling helplessly back. And when Takashi holds out his hand to him, Keith finds a place to set down his glass and immediately takes it in his own. 

“That’s _disgusting_.”

Keith rips his hand away, blood chilling in his veins as he looks around in a sea of faces and realizes everyone watching them. He can’t tell who was it that had spoken, but it doesn’t matter. The expressions on their faces are all the same. But worst of all is the furious look Takashi is wearing. He’s usually so calm and collected, which makes him an instant favorite to anyone who meets him. Seeing him judged by others because of Keith and then getting angry on his behalf is as painful as swallowing glass. 

“I need to go,” Keith rasps out, as if he really does have glass shards lodged in his throat. He turns and leaves, ignoring Allura as she calls after him. 

His entire body feels cold and heavy as lead, though he forces it to keep moving and get away as quickly as possible. He goes straight to the gardens before belatedly realizing that Takashi will know to look for him there, but by then it’s too late. 

“Keith.”

“You should leave,” he says without turning around, except every part of him is screaming _stay, stay, stay_. 

“Do you want me to leave?” 

Keith looks up at the sky above the branches of his mother’s tree, the blackness twinkling with lights from galaxies away, and says, “People are going to talk.”

“I don’t care about them,” Takashi says, with a hardness in his voice that Keith has never heard before. “You’re my friend.”

“Galra don’t have friends.” It takes all of his effort to force the words out around the lump in his throat, and he hears how his own voice wavers. He presses his hands against the tree’s rough bark, wishing Takashi would just take the hint and go away.

He thinks about the last couple weeks since Takashi and his family arrived, every afternoon spent they’ve spent together. Sometimes they take hoverbikes and race each other through the flower fields, scattering flower petals wherever they go. Sometimes they spar with swords and wrestle, teaching each other the different techniques of their planets. Allura gets annoyed with them for not inviting her, but they know that she could easily beat the both of them and tell her as much. But most often they sit together in Keith’s tree, talking about what they plan on doing in the future. Keith never grows tired of watching how brightly Takashi’s eyes shine as he tells him of his dream of being a pilot, and seeing what lay at the farthest reaches of the universe. It’s in those moments that Keith wants nothing more than to follow this boy and his beautiful dream wherever he goes. 

But the truth of the matter is that he doesn’t deserve it, not when the Galra are still feared throughout the galaxy. It doesn’t seem to matter that some fought against Zarkon and his regime during the war, sacrificing their lives for a better future just like everyone else, because the only thing people cared about was that they were of the same race. Keith knows that he’s going to be victim to those prejudices all his life, so the least he can do is not drag Takashi down with him. 

“Keith.” The touch on his shoulder is so gentle Keith lets himself be turned, facing Takashi's kind gaze and it makes something in his chest ache. “ _Everyone_ deserves a friend.” 

His mouth twists, more grimace than a smile. “Even me?”

“Especially you,” Takashi says and pulls him close, wrapping his arms around Keith’s shoulders.   

There’s not much else he can really say to that. So Keith sinks into his embrace and presses his face against Takashi’s neck, tangling his fingers in the back of his coat and hanging on as tightly as he can. 

—

Takashi and his family stay for over a month before returning to Earth. 

During those fleeting weeks, Keith takes Takashi to the forests and nearby town where they swim in the lake or shop for gifts Takashi thinks his Earth friends will like. They pack lunches and explore the woods and valleys while Keith tells him stories of Altea’s history. Takashi shows Keith his family’s ship -Kerberos- at the space harbor and teaches him what all the controls do, telling him all about his father teaching him and how great of a pilot he is. Keith has never been inside a ship before because there’s never been a reason for him to leave Altea, but he can see the appeal when Takashi explains what every part of Kerberos is and how it runs. It awakens Keith’s own desire to fly, of discovering distant worlds at Takashi’s side. But he knows that Takashi has a responsibility to lead his people the way his parents have, so Keith also dreams of seeing Earth for himself, of seeing the mountains and oceans that Takashi tells him about. He wants to see where Takashi grew up and learn more about the planet he loves so much.

But eventually Takashi and his parents have to return to Earth, so Keith goes with Alfor and Allura to see them off. He scuffs his boot against the ground as the adults exchange their pleasantries and Allura wishes Takashi a safe trip back to Earth, who thanks her with a smile.

“Goodbye, Keith,” Lady Shirogane says as she presses his hands between her own. “Take care of yourself.”

“Yes, my lady,” he replies and hopes his smile isn’t as awkward as it feels. Despite the way he ran out on her the first time they met, she freely forgave him and even shared stores about his mother with him. She spoke of how strong and brave his mother was in battle, how much of a devoted friend she was, and that she loved Keith more than life itself. 

“Come visit us on Earth,” Lord Shirogane adds and -with a playful spark in his eye- leans over to kiss Keith’s cheek. “Takashi will be lonely otherwise.”

Takashi’s face turns bright red as he shouts, aghast, “Father!”

Keith places a hand over the spot where Lord Shirogane kissed him, feeling heat under his fingertips as he blushes himself. He ducks his head, looking at the ground until Takashi’s boots step into view. 

“Keith.” He looks up and Takashi offers him an obviously embarrassed but genuine smile. “I’ll see you soon. I promise.”

Before he can stop himself, Keith is suddenly overcome with so much emotion that he throws his arms around Takashi’s neck. When Takashi doesn’t immediately hug him back, he realizes that it might reflect badly on Alfor and starts to pull away, but Takashi’s arms wrapping around his waist stop him. 

“Wait for me, Keith,” Takashi murmurs against his hair. 

“Yeah,” he replies, slightly muffled from where he has his face pressed against Takashi’s shoulder. “I will.”

They stay like that for a long moment before letting each other go, carefully not meeting anyone else’s eyes or their knowing glances. Takashi promises to contact Keith as soon as he gets back to Earth, waving one last time before the doors shut. Kerberos rises up and up into the sky and Keith keeps watching as the space portal opens, then the ship goes through it and disappears. 

Alfor places her hand on his shoulder and squeezes it gently. “We should go.”

Keith nods, forcing himself to finally turn away from the sky and lets Allura take his hand. He hasn’t done that since he was a little kid, but strangely the physical contact makes him feel better. 

“Come on, Keith,” she says, with that grin on her face that goads him into doing whatever she’s talking him into, no matter how bad of an idea it ends up being. “Father said he’ll spar with us.” 

And that’s how Coran finds in the sparring room later. Keith is just switching out and Allura takes his place, throwing herself at her father and swinging her sword hard and fast. Alfor blocks it easily, but with a little more caution than he did with Keith’s swings with an approving smile on his face. It doesn’t really bother Keith all that much though, because Allura can be quite aggressive when she wants to be. One day she might even be able to best Alfor, Keith has no doubt of that.

“My lord!” Coran shouts, not even stopping to knock before throwing open the doors like he usually does. “My lord! I have dreadful news!”

Alfor straightens immediately, once more the stoic leader Keith has always known him to be. “What is it?”

Coran glances at Keith, and right away he knows. He knows it’s about Takashi. 

“It’s the Kerberos, sir. It was attacked on the way to Earth and there are no signs of survivors.”

Keith drops his sword, staring at Coran like he can’t make sense of the words he’s saying. Takashi’s dead? That's impossible. They were just at the space harbor, saying goodbye to each other. Takashi can’t be dead. He promised. _He promised_.

“Keith,” Allura says softly and it’s like he’s lost the strength to stand. 

Tears are streaming down his face and his sobs are echo loudly in the sparring room, but no matter how much he gasps he can’t get any air because Takashi is dead. Keith has never felt this kind of devastation before. It’s too much. His knees buckle out from under him and he slumps against the ground, forehead pressed against the cold stone floor. He hears Alfor and Coran’s voices as if from a great distance away and feels Allura covering his body with her own, offering what comfort she can. 

But it’s not enough. 

Takashi’s dead and Keith is never going to see him again. 


	2. Chapter 2

The datapad hits the desk with a sharp crack, but Keith doesn’t so much as flinch. It’s not like it’s his anyway. 

Commander Iverson wastes no time going off on his usual rant about the disparity between Keith’s grades and his bad attitude, gesturing to the datapad with Keith’s record displayed on the screen and all the complained filed against him, but by then Keith is hardly listening. He’s heard it all many times and it doesn’t matter one way or another if his classmates and instructors hate him. He’s not here to make friends and he has no intention of working with others. He’s just here to become a pilot. That’s all.

The Galatic Academy was Alfor’s idea to maintain peace by training a powerful military force with recruits from Altea, Earth, and Galra in a space station located just above Altea’s orbit. Keith knows that Alfor was apparently very close with Keith’s mother and pretty much adopted him after she died, out of respect to Saturna and her culture. It’s one of the reasons why he calls Keith his nephew even though they’re not related by blood. Alfor started the academy for the same reason, to give Keith some sort of sense of belonging because he didn’t fit in anywhere else. But despite the school’s diversity, there are still deeply rooted prejudices even Alfor’s good intentions may never eradicate. It’s not even Keith being his usually cynical self about it either, just the truth. 

“—reason for the Kerberos’ piloting error—“

Keith stills, in disbelief over what he’s hearing. “Piloting error?” he echoes and his mouth twists in a bitter semblance of a smile. The pilots on the ship had been highly trained, and even if they weren’t, the Shirogane family were all capable pilots in their own right. Sabotage seemed more likely than a supposed piloting error. “Sir, it wasn’t a mistake. It was an assassination.”

Iverson’s eyes narrow. “Come again, cadet?”

Keith senses the warning, but that doesn’t stop him from stating his opinion. “Kerberos didn’t malfunction and it wasn’t an accident. It was attacked—“

“Cadet!” Iverson slams his hands on the desk and leaps to his feet. “Say another word and you’ll be expelled.”

Expulsion doesn’t scare him and telling Keith not to do something is a sure-fire way of getting him to do it, but he bites back his retort. Let them say what they want. He knows the truth and won’t let anyone forget it for as long as he lives. 

Iverson gives him the equivalent of a slap on the wrist -dishwashing duty in the canteen for the next two weeks- and orders him to leave. Keith does, only because if he stays much longer he’ll end up saying the things he wants to and get himself in even more trouble. He reluctantly decides to head to his next class instead, but is intercepted by Plytox and his posse.  

“Hello, mutt,” Plytox says with a smirk.  

“Hello, asshole,” Keith deadpans back, not in the mood to play games. 

The Galra with Plytox start snickering at their leader, but immediately hush when he glares at them. He clears his throat and says to Keith, “I have a proposition for you. Let’s go somewhere quiet to talk about it.”

“You can say it here,” Keith replies, scanning and assessing Plytox’s group. There’s six of them in all. So if he does have have to fight them, he doesn’t want to get caught alone. He hates the idea of going back to Iverson’s office, but it looks like it’s going to be unavoidable with a group like this. 

Plytox frowns. “Excuse me, but this is a private matter and I—“

“If this is another offer from Lotor, tell him I’m not interested,” Keith interrupts. “A king who stole his position isn’t a real king at all.”

After Takashi and his family were killed, Lotor was elected to rule over the Earth -despite not being human and Zarkon’s son- and the democracy Takashi’s parents fought for was replaced by nothing more than a dictatorship. Keith pities Lotor a little bit, because they’re the same age and he’s obviously being used as a pawn in a more sinister game, but the rest of him blames Lotor for the tragic end of the Shirogane family and Takashi’s death. It also doesn’t help that the one time Keith met him in person, Lotor insulted him and then had the nerve to demand they dance together. Keith refused, of course, but ever since Lotor has been pestering him with proposals for marriage and he’s pretty tired of it. 

Plytox and his gang are frozen with shock at his words before starting to move as one. Some start yelling and two throw themselves at him, but Keith ducks and kicks out their legs so that they crash right into Plytox. One of the others punches him hard in the face and splits his lip, before Keith punches him right back. Someone grabs the back of his shirt but Keith throws himself backwards and slams him against the wall, hard enough that he lets go. 

“Keith!” 

Everyone stops and turns to find Allura standing in the middle of the hallway with another instructor, face livid. 

“What are you doing?”

The instructor with her -Ulaz- starts to herd Plytox and his group to Iverson’s office, offering Allura a wry smile. “I’ll leave that one to you,” he says and she nods back solemnly. 

She and Keith watch them go before she whirls on him, her mouth pressed in a thin line like she’s trying very hard not to scream at Keith as much as she really wants to. “My office. Now.”

Keith shrugs and follows, closing the door behind him as she rounds her desk and sits down. 

“So,” Allura says in that deceptively calm tone of voice she uses when Keith is getting on her last nerve. “What were you fighting about this time?”

Keith stands at attention and stares at a spot on the wall just above her left shoulder, not bothering to respond. 

She slumps against her desk, rubbing tiredly at her temples. It makes him feel a little guilty to cause her this kind of stress, especially when she has enough things to worry about as a commanding officer and an instructor herself, but this is the kind of person he is. He’s not going to change now. 

“Father worries about you,” she admits, and the fact that she’s not using Alfor’s proper title tells him that she’s speaking to him as his cousin and not his commander. 

“He shouldn’t,” Keith says. His mouth hurts trying to talk with a split lip, but at least the bleeding has stopped. “I’m just a stray he picked up.” A mutt without a family or a home.

“You represent Altea as much as I do,” Allura says, impatiently. “This behavior is really not becoming, and with your graduation coming up—“

“Once I graduate, I’m leaving and you won’t have to deal with me ever again.”

Allura’s gaze turns soft and sad. “Keith, Takashi wouldn’t have wanted you to turn out this way.”

He staggers as if struck by a physical blow, staring at Allura like he doesn’t recognize her. She’s never used Takashi to hurt him this way before. The pain is so overwhelming that he can’t breathe, because he knows this isn’t the life Takashi would have wanted for him. He’d want Keith to have friends and everything else that goes beyond a childhood dream of being a pilot, but he’s afraid that if he does any of those things, it’ll make him forget about Takashi and he doesn’t want that. That childish dream and the summer they spent together is a memory he wants to keep for as long as he lives. 

“They’re delegates from Earth,” Allura adds, a touch more apologetic. “We must be respectful.”

Keith clenches his fists. Lotor became a pretty significant benefactor after Alfor opened a school, and one of the policies enforced is that no one speaks badly of how he came into power, no matter what the truth may be. “They killed Takashi and his family so they could take over. We don’t owe them a single thing.”

Allura makes a soft sound that is unmistakably a sigh. “We don’t have proof of that.” 

“No, but everyone knows it’s true,” Keith says stubbornly.

She frowns. “Be careful, cadet. That kind of talk will get you expelled.”

It might have hurt less if she slapped him. There’s a part of him that understands it’s all politics and it matters how they’re perceived other people -especially their allies-, but not to conceal the truth like this. “You too, Allura?”

“If there was a way to prove it, it would be different,” she says. “But because we can’t, you have to behave yourself, Keith.”

He nearly gives in to the inclination of telling her just how he feels about that, regardless of the consequences. But then alarms start blaring and Coran throws open the door, face drawn and pale above the bright orange of his mustache. “Princess! We’re being attacked!”

She leaps up from her desk. “Where’s Father?”

“He… He went to hold them off.” 

Allura’s eyes grow wide and she quickly makes her way to the door. Coran moves to block her path, clearly just as pained as she is. “It’s too dangerous! He asked me to escort you to the escape pods—“

“I’m not going to leave him here!” Allura shouts before he can finish, shoving past him so she can take off down the hallway. “I won’t!”

Keith hurries after her, pausing just long enough to glance back at Coran. “I’ll go too. You should help the other students and faculty evacuate.” 

He thinks he hears Coran calling after them, but it’s drowned out by the deafening alarms. People are screaming and swarming to the nearest exits as they push against the frantic crowd. They sneak into the hangar and hide among the equipment, where multiple enemy fighters are crowding the docking bay. Above the station, the battleship looms. And Alfor stands alone before a company of masked soldiers with their weapons trained on him as he tries to reason with them. 

“There’s no need for senseless violence,” Alfor is telling them in his calm and patient voice. “Let’s discuss what you’re here for and we can come to an agreement like civilized men.”

The leader laughs, his voice distorted by the dark helmet he has on and waves his hand. “What we want is simple, your majesty. The end of the Altean race, and that starts with you.”

The laser blast strikes Alfor in the chest, the sound of it drowning out Allura and Keith’s gasps as the soldiers fire their weapons and keep on shooting even after he falls, leaving a broken and bloody mess in their wake. Tears are running down Allura’s cheeks as she stares at her father’s lifeless body while Keith trembles with unbridled rage. He can’t even remember the last time he’s seen her cry like this. Not since her mother -Lady Amora- died. Keith wants to go out there and kill every last one of them, but he can’t risk Allura’s life like that after her father’s sacrifice. 

“We need to get out of here,” Keith whispers to her, grabbing her hand. If they’re really looking to commit genocide, he needs to get Allura on an escape pod and as far away from here as he can.  

“Sir,” a soldier says. “Look there.”

Keith thinks they’ve been discovered, until he realizes that the soldiers are looking at some of the escape pods that are already taking off. But the battleship fires its blasters and shoots every one of the escape pods, causing them to explode in a bright flash of light. 

Allura covers her mouth with her hands to muffle her scream, and Keith bites his split lip to silence his own, so hard that he makes himself bleed again. Whoever these people are, they’re monsters. 

“Sendak,” another soldier with a com-link in her hand says suddenly. “Command wants a status report.”

“Tell them it’s done,” the leader -Sendak- answers. “Have them fire the weapon when ready.”

The battleship’s laser cannon turns to Altea and all Keith can do is watch in horror as the only home he’s ever known is swallowed up by the blast. The entire planet and the billions of people living on it are snuffed out in a cloud of fire and ash. 

“Spread out and search for survivors,” Sendak orders. “Kill any that are left.”

Despite the shock and numbness in his limbs, Keith draws his mother’s knife -the only weapon he has on his person- and turns to Allura. “You need to get out of here,” he says quietly.

Allura grabs his arm. “No! I won’t leave you.”

“It’s either me or the both of us,” he whispers and attempts what he hopes is a reassuring smile. “And you’re too important. You have to live and carry on your father’s legacy.” 

“Keith—“

“Sir, it’s Voltron!”

Keith and Allura look up in surprise as a large black ship shimmers into view, dropping whatever cloaking mechanism it has to fire on the battleship. 

“Go after it!” Sendak shouts and the other soldiers rush back to their fighters. “Shoot it down!” 

Keith takes advantage of the distraction and leaps out from his hiding place, tackling Sendak and sending his blaster clattering across the floor. Keith has the element of surprise and speed on his side, but as they struggle with each other it’s obvious that Sendak is much bigger and stronger. Keith manages to tear off Sendak’s helmet and slashes at his throat, but Sendak grips his wrist so tightly that he feels the bones crack under the pressure. He retaliates by punching Sendak as hard as he can in the face with his other hand and is grimly satisfied when he breaks his nose. Even if Sendak hits him back in the ribs so hard it knocks the wind right out of him. 

But before he can hit Keith again, Allura points Sendak’s blaster at him. “Make one more move and I’ll shoot.” 

“Why didn’t you run?” Keith demands, gritting his teeth when Sendak tightens his grip on Keith’s broken wrist. 

Allura doesn’t even hesitate. “When I said I wasn’t going to leave you, I meant it.”

Sendak sneers with his strange, alien features. (Galra. Of course he’s Galra, Keith thinks bitterly.) “Do you even know how to shoot with that, Princess?” 

Allura’s lips thin and she pulls the trigger. The blaster bolt pierces clearly through Sendak’s leg and he roars with pain. “I know enough. Let Keith go if you don’t want the next shot through the head." 

“You wouldn’t,” Sendak says, but an inkling of fear flickers across his face.

Allura raises the blaster higher, pointing it right at Sendak’s forehead. “After you just murdered my father in cold blood, do you really want to test me?”

Sendak releases Keith immediately, who backs away and cradles his wrist against his chest. 

“Now tell us who you’re working for,” she says. 

“Why should I?”

Allura tilts the blaster down and fires, shooting Sendak in the shoulder. He grunts in pain and presses his hand against the wound. “Let’s try again. Who do you work for?”

Sendak snarls and reaches for something behind his back. “There’s no point in telling someone who is about to die." 

Keith understands a moment too late and only has time to throw himself at Allura, shielding her with his body as Sendak detonates his bomb. The impact throws them to the other side of the room and Keith hits his head hard against the floor. He must have passed for some time because when he comes to, Allura and Coran have his arms slung over their shoulders as they drag him through the corridors to the escape pods. 

He blinks at Coran blearily as he helps him into the nearest escape pod. Didn’t he already leave? “What—? Why are you still here?” 

“Couldn’t let you two have all the fun,” Coran jokes as the doors shut behind them, but it falls a little flat with the worried look he sends Keith. “Stay awake now.”

Keith doesn’t smile, but he’s relieved that Coran wasn’t shot down with the other escape pods. Maybe he can be annoying sometimes, but Keith has always liked him. “Sendak?” 

“Blew himself up and most of the hangar,” Allura answers bitterly. Her eyes are red-rimmed from crying. “Now the station is under attack.”

“Thankfully, whoever Voltron are, they’re keeping the battleship busy, but the fighters are causing substantial damage. The station won’t last much longer.”

The escape pod rocks suddenly and starts moving away from the station, as if it’s being pulled away out to space. 

“What’s happening?” Allura asks. 

 Coran looks out the nearest window, his orange whiskers twitching. If Keith didn’t feel so sick, he might have laughed. “It’s Voltron. It’s pulling us in.”

Voltron. Keith recognizes that name. For the last several years, there have been reports of a band of pirates who attack ships coming in and out of Earth’s orbit. They steal and can get pretty violent when provoked, but have never killed anyone. What are they doing so far away from Earth?

“My knife,” he mumbles in question.

“I have it,” Allura says, staring down at him with concern. “It seemed important to you. Even if this is the first I’ve ever seen it.”

Keith takes the knife from her and shrugs, regretting it immediately when the movement makes him dizzy. He’s never shown it to anyone before. Not even Takashi. 

Allura raises Sendak’s blaster in her arms, a grim expression on her face as she glances out the window as well. “At least they chased off our attackers, so they may be on our side.” 

“Or they could be looking to finish the job,” Coran points out. He winces when Allura and Keith glare at him. “They’re probably on our side though.”

“Even if they’re not, they may be willing to help us if we offer them a reward,” Allura says, even if she sounds like she doesn’t really believe it. 

On the small likelihood that the pirates of Voltron agrees to help them, they have absolutely nothing of value to give them. Fighting looks like their only option. 

The escape pod docks against the side of Voltron and Keith lurches to his feet when doors open. A tall knight in white and blue armor blocks the doorway, his own blaster aimed at them. But as soon as he catches sight of Allura, the determined look on his face melts into a flirty smile. 

“ _Hello_ , beautiful,” he says as he saunters in, his weapon still at ready but no longer as intimidating as it was a moment ago. “This is your lucky day. The name’s Lance— Whoa!”

Keith uses the distraction to charge with his knife, but before he makes contact another knight in white and yellow armor catches his undamaged wrist. 

“Hey, calm down! This is a rescue.”

“Let go of me!” Keith snaps, yanking his arm free, although it seem like he only manages to do so because the yellow knight lets him. 

The blue knight -the one called Lance- makes a horrified noise. “Hunk! Why’d you let him go? He just tried to kill me!”

“Keith’s always had a temper,” a voice interrupts before the knight -Hunk- can answer. It’s deeper than he remembers, but he’d recognize it anywhere. So when a knight in black and white armor ducks into the doorway, all he can do is stare in shock to see Takashi not dead at all. Allura gasps when she recognizes him, and even Coran stammers like he’s too stunned to properly form words. 

Takashi is older and much taller than when they were teenagers. His hair is shaved in an undercut and his dark bangs are now frosted white. A deep scar runs across the bridge of his noise, but his eyes and the curve of his smile hasn’t changed one bit. And he’s alive. He’s been alive all this time and Keith never knew, even though a secret part of him always hoped he was. 

So Keith does what any sensible person would, which is punching Takashi hard in the gut before hooking his arm around his neck and yanking him down for a hug. 

“I missed you, jerk,” he says, fighting the urge to cry.

Takashi chokes on a laugh and hugs him back, murmuring against his hair, “I missed you too, Keith.”

**Author's Note:**

> Once upon a time, I thought to myself, "Wouldn't a Sheith space regency AU be so much fun to write?" which is how this story came to be. I hope you like it! Also, comments and kudos make me very happy, so please let me know what you think of the story so far.
> 
> The title comes from Hugel and Jasmine Thompson’s “Where We Belong”.


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